Method and device for controlling radio access

ABSTRACT

A method for controlling a number of simultaneous radio connections in a communication device is presented. The control of a number of simultaneous radio connections is carried out in the communication device. Parameters of the radio connections are controlled such that interference between the radio connections is minimized.

The invention relates to controlling a number of simultaneous radioconnections in a communication device.

BACKGROUND

The number of different radios in mobile communication devices issteadily increasing to facilitate more flexible connectivity and abroader range of services. Cellular access alone is no longersufficient, but new wireless technologies are integrated tocommunication devices now and especially in the future to enable novelconnectivity solutions. Integration of multiple radios into a singleterminal, however, introduces a serious integration challenge that isbecoming more pronounced as the number of radios increases. One elementof the integration challenge is the appropriate handling of simultaneousoperation of radios. It is quite evident that users are willing to usedifferent radios at the same time, like using a headset employingwireless Bluetooth® technology during a GSM phone call, and using awireless local area network (WLAN) connection for Internet surfing, forexample.

If there are two or more operational radio connections from onecommunication device, the connections may very well interfere with oneanother. Even if the connections are not operating on the same frequencyband, they may still interfere with each other due to the non-idealitiesin the components of the communication device. The components mayintroduce spectral leakage, and the selectivity of receivers may not beideal, meaning that they may also receive signal components belonging toa signal other than the desired one.

If there is a number of connections simultaneously operating on the sameband, interference they cause to one another is much more severe than ifthey were operating on separate bands. Especially on the 2.4 GHzunlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band there may beseveral connections, for example Bluetooth® and wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) connections, operating on the same band simultaneously.These connections cause inter-system interference to one another, whichmay result in a degraded quality of service. If there are two activeconnections on the same band operating from the same communicationdevice, these two connections may very well interfere with each otherseverely, or the connections may even block each other's usage totally.This may happen because both of the connections operate from the samecommunication device, and thus the radio transceivers may be locatedwithin a few centimeters from each other. They may also be using thesame radio components, like an antenna, for instance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a solution for controlling anumber of simultaneous radio connections in a communication device.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method forcreating a new radio connection in a communication device with at leastone existing radio connection. The method comprises determining whetheror not an existing radio connection and a new radio connection interferewith one another and creating the new radio connection with parametersthat minimize interference between the existing radio connection and thenew radio connection if the existing radio connection and the new radioconnection interfere with one another.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodfor controlling a number of simultaneously operating radio connectionsin a communication device. The method comprises monitoring properties ofthe radio connections in order to detect interference between at leasttwo radio connections and adjusting parameters of at least one radioconnection so that interference between the radio connections isminimized if interference between the at least two radio connections isdetected.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided acommunication device comprising at least one communication interface toprovide at least one radio connection and a control unit which isconfigured to create at least one radio connection, process a request tocreate a new radio connection, determine whether or not an existingradio connection and the new radio connection interfere with one anotherand create the new radio connection with parameters that minimizeinterference between an existing radio connection and the new radioconnection if the existing radio connection and the new radio connectioninterfere with one another.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided acommunication device comprising at least one communication interface toprovide a radio connection and a control unit configured to monitorproperties of the radio connections in order to detect interferencebetween at least two radio connections and adjust parameters of at leastone radio connection so that the interference between the radioconnections is minimized, if interference between the at least two radioconnections is detected.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program product embodied on a computer readable medium, thecomputer program product encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process for creating a new radio connection in acommunication device with at least one existing radio connection. Theprocess comprises determining whether or not the existing radioconnection and the new radio connection interfere with one another andcreating the new radio connection with parameters that minimizeinterference between the existing radio connection and the new radioconnection if the existing radio connection and the new radio connectioninterfere with one another.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encodinga computer program of instructions for executing a computer process forcreating a new radio connection in a communication device with at leastone existing radio connection. The process comprises determining whetheror not the existing radio connection and the new radio connectioninterfere with one another and creating the new radio connection withparameters that minimize interference between the existing radioconnection and the new radio connection if the existing radio connectionand the new radio connection interfere with one another.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program product embodied on a computer readable medium, thecomputer program product encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process for controlling a number of simultaneouslyoperating radio connections in a communication device. The processcomprises monitoring properties of the radio connections in order todetect interference between at least two radio connections and adjustingparameters of at least one radio connection so that the interferencebetween the radio connections is minimized if interference between theat least two radio connections is detected.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encodinga computer program of instructions for executing a computer process forcontrolling a number of simultaneously operating radio connections in acommunication device. The process comprises monitoring properties of theradio connections in order to detect interference between at least tworadio connections and adjusting parameters of at least one radioconnection so that the interference between the radio connections isminimized if interference between the at least two radio connections isdetected.

The invention provides several advantages. The invention enablessimultaneous operation of several radio connections from onecommunication device, even though the connections used the same radioresources, such as a frequency band. The invention is also able tocontrol different radio connections regardless of the radio accesstechnologies.

LIST OF DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail withreference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication device employing anumber of radio connections,

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an architecture of a communicationdevice,

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a structure of a multiradio controller,

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a process of creating a newconnection in a communication device while operational connectionsexist, and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a process of controlling a numberof simultaneous connections in a communication device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Next, a structure of a communication device employing a number ofsimultaneous radio connections will be described with reference toFIG. 1. The communication device 100 may be for example a personalcommunication device such as a mobile communication device, a computer,a laptop, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). The communicationdevice 100 may also be a combination of two electronic devices, such asa computer with a mobile communication device connected to the computer.An example of a combination of a PDA and a mobile communication deviceis the Nokia Communicator®.

The communication device 100 comprises a number of communicationinterfaces 110 to 114 to provide a wireless radio connection. Thecommunication interfaces 110 to 114 may be configured to provideconnections employing different radio access technologies. In ourexample, the communication interface 110 provides a communication link116 with a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)-system througha serving GSM base transceiver station 122. The communication interface114 provides a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) connection 118 with aserving WLAN access point 124.

A communication interface 112 provides another wireless connection 120,using Bluetooth®-technology, with a user interface component 106. Theuser interface component 106 may be for example a headset of a mobiletelephone, comprising a microphone, a loudspeaker, and a communicationinterface for a Bluetooth® connection with the mobile telephone. Theuser interface component 106 may also be a keyboard or a mouse operatingwith a computer through a Bluetooth® link.

The communication interfaces 110 to 114 described above may be usingpartially the same components of the communication device 100 during theoperation of radio connections 116 to 120. The communication interfaces110 to 114 may be using for example the same antenna or antennas, radiofrequency amplifier, and/or radio frequency filter. Each communicationinterface 110 to 114 may naturally have its own components or only someof the communication interfaces 110 to 114 may be using the samecomponents.

In the example of FIG. 1 three communication interfaces 110 to 114 areprovided in the communication device, these interfaces 110 to 114providing the Bluetooth® connection 122, the GSM connection 116, and theWLAN connection 118, respectively. It should, however, be appreciatedthat the communication device according to the invention is limitedneither to the number of communication interfaces in the communicationdevice nor to the wireless communication technology the communicationinterfaces provide. Thus, the communication device may comprise severalcommunication interfaces providing connections based on, for example,the following technologies: GSM, WLAN, Bluetooth®, WCDMA (Wideband CodeDivision Multiple Access), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), EDGE(Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), DVB-H (Digital VideoBroadcasting for Handheld devices), UWB (Ultra Wideband), GPS (GlobalPositioning System), CDMA2000. Other wireless communication technologiesare also possible to be implemented in the communication deviceaccording to the invention.

The communication device 100 further comprises a control unit 104 tocontrol functions of the device 100. The control unit 104 comprisesmeans for creating radio connections between the communication device100 and other communication devices or networks. The control unit 104also comprises means for controlling a number of simultaneous radioconnections in the communication device 100. The control unit 104 may beimplemented with a digital signal processor with suitable software orwith separate logic circuits, for example with ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 104 may also be acombination of these two implementations, such as a processor withsuitable software embedded within an ASIC.

The communication device 100 further comprises a user interface 102connected to the controlling unit. The user interface 102 may comprise akeyboard, a microphone, a loudspeaker, a display, and/or a camera.

The communication device 100 usually comprises a voltage source 108 toprovide current for the operation of the device 100. The voltage sourcemay be for example a rechargeable battery.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an architecture of the communicationdevice 100. The architecture is depicted in a layered form, like an OSI(Open Systems Interconnection) model of ISO (International Organizationfor Standardization), with lower layers providing services to higherlayers.

On the highest layer are provided applications 200 to 204 that may needa radio connection. The application 200 to 204 may be for example anapplication handling a voice call, a web or WAP (Wireless ApplicationProtocol) browser, an e-mail client, a GPS navigation application, agaming application, or a media player application. The communicationdevice 100 may also comprise other applications. Whenever an application200 to 204 needs a radio connection to another communication device ornetwork, the application sends a request to a lower layer to establishthe connection. During the operation of the connection, the applicationsends data related to the application to lower layers for transmissionover the connection to the other communication device. Similarly, theapplication receives data related to the application from the othercommunication device via the connection through the lower layers. When aneed no longer exists to maintain the connection, the application sendsa request to a lower layer to terminate the connection.

On the lower layer, services may be provided to the applications 200 to204 by a connection selection manager 206. The connection selectionmanager 206 may select an appropriate connection for an applicationbased on a set of connection profiles stored in its database. A user oran operator, for example, may define the connection profiles, and theprofiles may be based on optimization of some criterion, for examplethroughput, bit error rate or cost-efficiency of the connection. Theconnection selection manager 206 is an optional layer in thearchitecture of the communication device 100, since the applications 200to 204 may be designed to define the suitable connections by themselves.

The next lower layer is a multiradio controller 208. The multiradiocontroller 208 establishes, controls, and terminates radio connectionsaccording to the connection requirements from the higher layers. Themultiradio controller 208 is also responsible for taking care of thesimultaneous operation of multiple radio connections.

The multiradio controller 208 may be a two-fold entity. First of all,there is a common control element 210, which communicates with thehigher layers. It receives requests for creating and terminating a radioconnection from the applications 200 to 204 or, if applied, theconnection selection manager 206. The common control element 210 mayalso check the availability of the radio connection requested from ahigher layer, and either start a process for creating a radio connectionor inform higher layers that the requested radio connection is notcurrently available. The common control element 210 is also responsiblefor controlling the simultaneous operation of multiple radio connectionsby adjusting the parameters of an existing connection whenever a newradio connection which would interfere with an existing radio connectionis created, or whenever the common control element 210 detects asufficient change in the properties of an existing connection.

The multiradio controller 208 also comprises radio-specific entities 212to 224. Each radio-specific entity can be seen as an interface betweenthe common control element 210 of the multiradio controller 208 and thespecific radio interface. A radio-specific entity takes care ofcontrolling one radio connection according to the parameters receivedfrom the common control element 210. A radio-specific entity is close tothe physical layer of the connection, which enables rapid adaptation tothe changing environment and fast control of the connection. Thefunctionality of each radio-specific entity is radio-system-specific,which means that the parameters from the common control element 210 areapplied to the standard specifications of the radio system. Aradio-specific entity may also supply the common control element 210with the measured properties of the connection it controls. The measuredproperties of the connection may comprise the bit error rate (BER),block error rate, or the frame error rate (FER) of the connection. Themeasured properties may also comprise received energy per chip dividedby the noise power density in the band (Ec/No), interference signal codepower (ISCP), received signal code power (RSCP), received signalstrength indicator (RSSI), signal-to-interference-power ratio (SIR).

In an embodiment of the multiradio controller radio-specific entitiesare not included in the multiradio controller. Instead, the multiradiocontroller may have an interface to an external entity providing theinterface to each radio.

Below the radio-specific entities 212 to 224 in FIG. 2 are provided thecommunication interfaces 226 to 238. Each communication interface takescare of encoding and decoding data into suitable electrical waveformsfor transmission and reception on the specific physical media used. Thisprocess is carried out according to each radio-access-specific standard.The architecture of FIG. 2 employs physical layers of EDGE, WCDMA, WLAN,Bluetooth®, DVB-H, UWB and GPS radio access technologies, but theoperation of the multiradio controller is not limited to thesetechnologies as it can be configured to control also other wirelessradio access technologies.

Next, the operation of the multiradio controller 208 in thecommunication device will be described in more detail with reference toFIG. 3 comprising the structure of the common control element 210 of themultiradio controller 208. In addition to the common control element210, FIG. 3 comprises applications 300 and radio interfaces 310 toclarify the operation of the common control element 210.

A block 300 comprises applications, which may need a radio connection.The operation of the applications 300 is the same as described above.The block 300 may also comprise a connection selection manager, if aconnection selection manager is applied in the communication device.

A connection request processing block 304 processes requests for a radioconnection coming from an application or from the connection selectionmanager. The connection request processing block 304 checks at least thevalidity of a request and the availability of radio resources related tothe request. Checking the validity of a request comprises checking,whether or not the requested radio connection is available in thecommunication device. Checking the availability of the radio resourcescomprises checking which and how many radio connections are inoperation, and whether it is possible to establish another radioconnection without deteriorating or even collapsing the operation of anexisting connection. If the requested connection is available and if itis possible to establish it, the connection request processing block 304sends a command message to create the connection to a connectionparameter manager 308. If the creation of the connection is notpossible, the connection request processing block 304 informs theapplication, or the connection selection manager, that requested theconnection that the requested connection is not currently available.

A radio record block 302 comprises information on the status, parametersand properties of the radio connections applied to the communicationdevice. The status of a connection describes whether the connection isin operation, available, or disabled. When a connection is in operation,a communication link has been established using the communicationinterface related to that specific connection, and data is beingtransported through that link. When a connection is available, nocommunication link related to that specific connection has beenestablished but radio resources are available for the establishment ofthe connection. When a connection is disabled, the connection is notavailable due to lack of radio resources, for example. There may also betwo descriptions for the status of a radio connection. For example, ifit is possible to establish a number of connections using a singlecommunication interface, the status of the connection in the radiorecord block 302 may be both ‘in operation’ and ‘available’.

The parameters of the connections that are held in the radio recordblock 302 may comprise the center frequency of the connection as well asa spreading code, channel code, modulation technique, power level,timing parameters, data rate, packet type, link type, automatic repeatrequest (ARQ) scheme etc. The properties of the connections that areheld in the radio record block 302 may comprise the BER or FER of theconnection as well as other measured or detected properties of theconnection.

The radio record block 302 may also comprise information on all possibleparameters specific to each radio access technology employed in thecommunication device and not just the ones that are currently beingused. This information may comprise all the possible frequency bands,modulation and coding schemes, waveforms, etc. of each radio accesstechnology. The radio record block 302 may also comprise information onthe measured or detected non-idealities of the connections, such asspectral leakage or spurious emissions of radio signals. Thisinformation may then be used when controlling a number of simultaneouslyoperating radio connections.

The radio record block 302 provides information on the status,parameters, and properties of the connections to the connection requestprocessing block 304, to the connection parameter manager 308, and tothe continuous control manager 306. The radio record block 302 receivesupdates to the status, parameters, and properties from the connectionparameter manager and from the continuous control manager. The radiorecord block 302 is included in the common control element 210 of FIG.2.

A connection parameter manager 308 determines the operational parametersof each connection. When receiving a command from the connection requestprocessing block 304 to create a new connection, the connectionparameter manager 308 checks which connections are operational, and theparameters of the operational connections. If the connection parametermanager 308 detects that there is an active connection which mightinterfere with the operation of the new connection (or vice versa), theconnection parameter manager 308 defines the parameters of the newconnection so that interference between the two connections is asminimal as possible.

The detection of possible interference between connections is based onthe information on the used radio resources, available radio resources,and on the parameters of existing connections. This information iscontained in the radio record block 302. The connection parametermanager 308 may first check, whether or not an existing, operationalconnection exists that uses the same radio resources as the newlyrequested connection would use. These radio resources comprise afrequency band, time domain, and space domain. The space domain is apossible radio resource in communication devices which comprise multipleantennas and an ability to control the direction of a radio beam fromthe antenna or antenna array. It is possible that two simultaneous radioconnections are operating on the same frequency band andtransmitting/receiving data at the same time, only in/from differentdirections.

If no radio connections using the same radio resources exist, thecreation of a new connection is simple, since the connection parametermanager 308 does not have to arrange several connections to share thesame radio resources. The connection parameter manager 308 simplydefines the parameters for the connection and sends a command to thecorresponding radio-specific entity to create the connection.

If an operational radio connection exists that uses the same radioresource(s) as the requested new connection, the connection parametermanager 308 may define the parameters for the new connection so thatinterference between the two connections is minimized. The connectionparameter manager 308 may also adjust the parameters of the existingconnection in order to minimize the interference between the twoconnections using the same radio resource(s).

Next, a number of examples of defining/adjusting the parameters of aradio connection in creation and/or the existing radio connection(s)will be described. The radio connection in creation may employ differentradio access technology than an existing radio connection or radioconnections use. Equivalently, the radio connection in creation mayemploy the same radio access technology than an existing radioconnection or radio connections use. It should be appreciated that theoperation of the connection parameter manager 308 and the multiradiocontroller 208 is not limited to the examples described below, but otherprocedures for defining/adjusting the parameters of the radioconnections are also possible.

When creating a new radio connection, the connection parameter manager308 may first check, whether existing connections exist that use thesame frequency band as the requested new connection in creation woulduse. If an existing connection on the same frequency band exists, theconnection manager may (if possible) define the frequency parameters ofthe connection in creation so that the frequency bands of twoconnections do not overlap. For example, a Bluetooth® connection and aWLAN connection operate partially on the same 2.4 Gigahertz ISM-band.Let us assume that the connection in creation is a Bluetooth®connection, and a WLAN connection in operation exists. The Bluetooth®connection is a frequency hopping spread spectrum connection. Thus, theconnection parameter manager 308 may prevent the Bluetooth® connectionfrom hopping to the frequencies the WLAN connection is using. Thelimitation of frequency hops of the Bluetooth® connection is naturallypossible also when a Bluetooth® connection exists and the connection increation is a WLAN connection. The frequency overlapping is naturallyalso possible between connections other than just Bluetooth® and WLANones, and the frequency parameters of these other connections may beadjusted accordingly.

In some cases the frequency bands of two connections may overlap toomuch to enable the connections to be enabled to operate on the samefrequency band. If the connection parameter manager 308 detects that anew connection cannot be created without using the same band as thatused by an existing connection, the connection parameter manager 308 maynext check whether it is possible to schedule the two connections sothat the connection will not be transporting data at the same time. Ifapplicable, the scheduling of two connections may be carried out by themultiradio controller 208 in the communication device. In manycommunication systems, however, very strictly defined time slots existfor data transport allocated for a connection. In such a case theconnection parameter manager 308 may delay the establishment of a newconnection so that the time slots allocated for the connections usingthe same band do not overlap.

It is also possible in some communication systems for the communicationdevice to control the transmission or reception timing, either directlyor indirectly. For example, in a GPS system a GPS receiver may decidethe timing of reception. In packet switched systems, a receiver maychoose not to receive packet switched data when another connection isusing the same radio resource. If the receiver misses the reception of atransmitted data packet during that time, the transmitter does notreceive a ‘packet received’ indication from the receiver, andretransmits the packet. This is a standard feature in most packetswitched systems.

Space as a radio resource can be divided between connections in the sameway as the frequency band and time described above. If a connectionexists that uses the same frequency band, and/or the allocated timeslots are all in use, but there is no connection transporting data tothe same direction as in which the connection in creation would betransporting, the new connection may be established to transport data onthe same frequency band in the same time slots, only in a differentdirection. This, however, requires an ability to control the directionof the connections from the communication device. The communicationdevice should also comprise multiple directional antennas or an antennaarray.

In some cases no alternative exists for two connections (an existingconnection and the connection in creation) but to use at least partlybut even totally the same radio resources. In this case, the connectionparameter manager 308 may determine, whether the new connection may beallocated with at least partly the same radio resources as the existingconnection with a tolerable level of interference between the newconnection and the existing connection. The tolerable level ofinterference between the connections may be such interference level thatthe connections do not block each other even though the effective datarate of the connections would be reduced. The connection parametermanager 308 may check the radio record 302 for knowledge of which radioconnections may share at least partly the same radio resources and checkthe parameters of the connections for such case. The two connectionsthen interfere with one another and, in the worst case, may block eachother's operation totally. In such a case, other parameters of theconnections could be adjusted so that the connections would tolerate asmuch interference as possible. Such parameters include modulation,coding (spreading code and/or channel code), interleaving, transmissionpower, and data rate. Other parameters of the connection may also beadjusted. An existing radio connection may even be put on a standbystate or even terminated in order to create a new connection if the newconnection has a higher priority than the existing connection, and it isnot possible for the two connections to operate simultaneously. Analternative is that the creation of the new connection is terminated. Insuch a case, the connection parameter manager 308 informs theapplication/connection manager which requested the creation of theconnection that the requested connection is currently unavailable.

After the connection parameter manager 308 has decided the properparameters for the connection in creation, and possibly the adjustableparameters for an existing connection, it sends command messages torespective radio-specific entities to create a connection with thedefined parameters, or to adjust the parameters of an existingconnection. It updates the status and stores the parameters of the newconnection in the radio record 302. The connection parameter manager 308also sends the parameter of the new connection as well as a command tothe continuous control manager 306 to start the monitoring and controlof the new connection. Functions of the continuous control manager 306will be described below.

Above, the functionality of the connection parameter manager 308 wasdescribed in the scenario where one connection is in creation andparameters of one existing connection are checked and possibly adjusted.The procedure is similar in a case where several connections exist,whose parameters need to be checked and/or adjusted in order to create anew connection. The operation of the connection parameter manager 308 isnot restricted to the number of existing connections.

The continuous control manager 306 monitors the properties ofoperational radio connections, and adjusts their parameters according tothe performance of the connections or to the information on theconnections. The function of the continuous control manager 306 is torapidly adapt the operating radio connections to the possibly changingradio environment. When a new connection is created, the continuouscontrol manager 306 receives the parameters related to the connectionand a command to start the monitoring and control of the new connectionfrom the connection parameter manager 308. The continuous controlmanager 306 then starts monitoring the properties of the connection. Theproperties of the connection may be measured in the communication deviceor by the serving network system and delivered to the continuous controlmanager 306 through the corresponding radio-specific entity.

The continuous control manager 306 may monitor for example performancemeasures of operational connections. Such performance measures may beBER or FER. If the continuous control manager 306 detects too poorperformance measures related to a connection, it may check whether thepoor performance is associated with the use of a certain radio resource.For example when related to a Bluetooth® connection, a momentarily highbit error rate may be associated with a certain frequency hop. This mayoccur when an operational WLAN connection exists partially on the sameband as a Bluetooth® connection, and the frequency hops to the bandwhere WLAN is operating may produce poorer performance. If the poorperformance is related to a use of a certain radio resource (or aportion of the radio resource), the continuous control manager 306 mayadjust the parameters of a connection or connections so that the radioresource is not used by several connections. For instance, theparameters of a Bluetooth® connection may be adjusted so that thefrequency hopping of the connection is limited to a narrower band, whereno other operating connection exists. Controlling the use of time (orspace) domain radio resources is carried out in a similar way, of coursetaking into account restrictions given by for example the radio systems(such as the time slots allocated for each connection in a GSM system).

If no alternative exists but to use the same radio resources for two (ormore) connections, the continuous control manager 306 may adjust theparameters of one or more connections whose performance is too poor. Theadjusted parameters may comprise a spreading code, channel code,modulation technique, power level, and/or timing parameters. If theperformance of a connection or connections is still unsatisfactory, thecontinuous control manager 306 may temporarily shut down a connection oreven terminate either the connection performing poorly or the connectioninterfering with the poorly performing connection.

The continuous control manager 306 may also have a pre-information onthe possible combinations of connections, which may interfere with oneanother. For example, if the continuous control manager detects a poorperformance in a Bluetooth® connection, it may automatically check,whether an operational WLAN connection (or vice versa) exists, becauseit has information that these connections may interfere with oneanother. If the continuous control manager 306 detects an operationalWLAN connection, it may adjust the parameters of one or bothconnections. The continuous control manager 306 may take care ofscheduling the transmission of packets, and changing parameters ofpackets to be transmitted. Possible parameters that may be changedcomprise packet length, amount of data in the packet, modulation scheme,channel coding scheme, transmission frequency/rate of packets, and/orformat of the packet (preamble, header, payload, etc.). The continuouscontrol manager 306 may predict possible collisions of data packets of anumber of connections and adapt the scheduling accordingly. Thus, thecontinuous control manager 306 may have information on the possiblecoincidences between connections, and also a defined set of rules as tohow to rapidly adapt to these situations.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for creating a radio connection in acommunication device, and arranging simultaneous operation of severalradio connections. The process starts in 400 with no operationalconnections in the communication device. In 402 a first radio connectionis created according to a prior art procedure. A request to create a newradio connection is received in 404. The request may come from anapplication in the communication device or from an external instance,for example from a radio network.

Available radio resources are checked in 406. This comprises checkingthe radio resources specified for the connection in creation. Availableradio resources mean that there is at least a portion of one radioresource (frequency band, time slots, space) available. Although thefrequency band the new connection is specified to use were in use, itmay be possible to arrange the two (or more) connections to operate sothat they do not transport data at the same time (or in the samedirection).

If radio resources are available so that a new connection can be createdwithout using the same radio resources as used for an existingconnection, the process proceeds to 408 (optional) and 410. 408 iscarried out, if the parameters of an existing radio connection have tobe adjusted in order to create a new connection without the connectionsinterfering with each other. A new connection with parameters that donot interfere with another connection is created in 410.

If no radio resources are available in 406, the process moves to 412,where it is checked whether or not it is possible to create anotherconnection using at least partially all the same radio resources as usedfor an existing connection or connections. This means that at least twoconnections would be operating at least partially at the same frequency,transporting data at least partially at the same time and at leastpartially in the same direction.

If it is impossible to create another connection (even with adjustingthe parameters of existing connection or connections) without blockingthe usage of another radio connection, the process moves to 414, whereone radio connection is either put on a standby state or eventerminated. The radio connection put on a standby state or terminatedmay be an existing connection, but also the creation procedure of thenew radio connection may be cancelled.

If it is possible in 412 to create another connection using the sameradio resources as used for an existing connection or connections, theprocess proceeds to 416 and 418 (optional). The new connection withparameters that allow the connection to sustain interference to somedegree is created in 416. The parameters of an existing connection orconnections are adjusted accordingly, when necessary.

The process ends in 420.

FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for controlling a number of simultaneousradio connections in a communication device.

The process starts in 500. A number of radio connections is createdaccording to the procedure of FIG. 4 in 502. Properties of the radioconnections are monitored in 504. The properties being monitored maycomprise properties describing the performance of the connection, suchas BER or FER. It is checked in 506 whether two connections interferewith each other. Detection of two connections interfering with eachother may be based on sudden degradation in performance of at least oneconnection combined to the information that there is another connectionor connections using the same radio resources.

If two connections do not interfere with each other in 506, the processreturns to 504 and continues the monitoring of the properties of theconnections. If two connections are detected to interfere with eachother in 506, the process moves to 508, where the radio resources arechecked. This comprises checking the radio resources of both connectionsthat interfere with each other. If there are radio resources availableso that the two connections can operate without interfering with eachother, the process moves from 510 to 512, where the parameters of atleast one connection are adjusted so that the two connections do notinterfere with one another. Adjusting the parameters of one connectionmay suffice in some cases, but a need may exist to adjust the parametersof both connections interfering with each other. Parameters of anotherconnection or other connections that were not involved in theinterference in 506 may also need to be adjusted in some cases. This maybe the case in situations where the adjustment of parameters of oneconnection results in interference between the adjusted connection andanother connection. A precaution would be to also adjust the parametersof that other connection at the same time so that interference betweenthese two connections would be avoided.

The process returns from 512 to 504, and the monitoring of theproperties of the operational radio connections in the communicationdevice is continued.

If no other option exists for the two connections but to use the sameradio resources, the process moves from 510 to 514, where it is checkedwhether or not it is possible for the two connections to operate usingat least partially all the same radio resources. This means that atleast two connections would be operating at least partially at the samefrequency, transporting data at least partially at the same time and atleast partially in the same direction.

If it is possible for the two connections to operate using the sameradio resources in 514, the process proceeds to 512, where theparameters of one connection or both connections are adjusted so thatthey sustain interference to some degree, thus enabling the operation oftwo connections using the same radio resources. The process returns from512 to 504, and the monitoring of the properties of the operationalradio connections in the communication device is continued.

If it is impossible for the two connections to operate using the sameradio resources in 514, the process moves to 516, and one of theconnections is either put on a standby state or even terminated. Adecision about which connection is put on a standby state or terminatedis based on some criterion, such as priority or performance of theconnections. A connection with a lower priority or poorer performance isterminated. The process returns from 516 to 504, and the monitoring ofthe properties of the operational radio connections in the communicationdevice is continued.

The communication device 100 of the type described above may be used forimplementing the methods, but also other types of communication devicesmay be suitable for the implementation. In an embodiment, a computerprogram product encodes a computer program of instructions for executinga computer process of the above-described method for creating a newradio connection in a communication device with at least one existingradio connection. In another embodiment, a computer program productencodes a computer program of instructions for controlling a number ofsimultaneously operating radio connections in a communication device.The computer program product may be implemented on a computer programdistribution medium. The computer program distribution medium includesall manners known in the art for distributing software, such as acomputer readable medium, a program storage medium, a record medium, acomputer readable memory, a computer readable software distributionpackage, a computer readable signal, a computer readabletelecommunication signal, and a computer readable compressed softwarepackage.

Even though the invention has been described above with reference to anexample according to the accompanying drawings, it is clear that theinvention is not restricted thereto but it can be modified in severalways within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for creating a new radio connection in a communicationdevice with at least one existing radio connection, the methodcomprising: determining whether or not the existing radio connection andthe new radio connection interfere with one another; and creating thenew radio connection with parameters that minimize interference betweenthe existing radio connection and the new radio connection if theexisting radio connection and the new radio connection interfere withone another.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the existing radioconnection and the new radio connection employ at least two differentradio access technologies.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:defining the parameters of the new connection such that the new radioconnection does not use the same radio resources as the existing radioconnection.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameters of the newconnection are defined such that the new radio connection does nottransmit or receive data at a same time as the existing radioconnection.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameters of the newconnection are defined such that the new radio connection does nottransmit or receive data at a same frequency band as the existing radioconnection.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining,whether the new connection may be allocated with at least partly thesame radio resources as the existing connection with a tolerable levelof interference between the new connection and the existing connection;defining the parameters of the new connection such that the new radioconnection uses at least partly the same radio resources as the existingradio connection, if it has been determined that the new connection andthe existing connection may be allocated with at least partly the sameradio resources.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the existing radioconnection and the new radio connection employ the same radio accesstechnology.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: adjusting theparameters of the existing radio connection in order to minimizeinterference between the new radio connection and the existing radioconnection.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whetheror not the existing radio connection and the new radio connectioninterfere with one another is based on pre-information on properties ofthe existing radio connection and the new radio connection.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether or not theexisting radio connection and the new radio connection interfere withone another is based on detected or measured properties of the existingradio connection.
 11. A method for controlling a number ofsimultaneously operating radio connections in a communication device,the method comprising: monitoring properties of the radio connections inorder to detect interference between at least two radio connections; andadjusting parameters of at least one radio connection of the at leasttwo radio connections so that interference between the at least tworadio connections is minimized if interference between the at least tworadio connections is detected.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: monitoring the properties describing a performance of theradio connections in order to detect interference between the at leasttwo radio connections.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:adjusting the parameters of the at least one radio connection such thatthe at least two radio connections do not use the same radio resources.14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: adjusting parameters ofthe at least one radio connection such that the at least two radioconnections interfering with one another use at least partially the sameradio resources, if not enough radio resources are available for the atleast two radio connections interfering with one another.
 15. The methodof claim 14, further comprising: adjusting the parameters of the radioconnections that use at least partially the same radio resources inorder for the radio connections to sustain interference.
 16. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: terminating or putting on a stand-bystate the at least one radio connection if the at least two radioconnections interfering with one another cannot be arranged to operatesimultaneously.
 17. A communication device, comprising: at least onecommunication interface to provide at least one radio connection; and acontrol unit configured to create the at least one radio connection asan existing radio connection, process a request to create a new radioconnection, determine whether or not the existing radio connection andthe new radio connection interfere with one another, and create the newradio connection with parameters that minimize interference between theexisting radio connection and the new radio connection if the existingradio connection and the new radio connection interfere with oneanother.
 18. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the controlunit is further configured to create radio connections which employ atleast two different radio access technologies.
 19. The communicationdevice of claim 17, wherein the control unit is further configured todefine the parameters of the new radio connection such that the newradio connection does not use the same radio resources as the existingradio connection.
 20. The communication device of claim 19, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to define the parameters of the newradio connection such that the new radio connection is not transmittingor receiving data at a same time as the existing radio connection. 21.The communication device of claim 19, wherein the control unit isfurther configured to define the parameters of the new radio connectionsuch that the new radio connection does not transmit or receive data ata same frequency band as the existing radio connection.
 22. Thecommunication device of claim 17, wherein the control unit is furtherconfigured to determine, whether the new connection may be allocatedwith at least partly the same radio resources as the existing connectionwith a tolerable level of interference between the new connection andthe existing connection, and to define the parameters of the newconnection such that the new radio connection uses at least partly thesame radio resources as the existing radio connection, if it has beendetermined that the new connection and the existing connection may beallocated with at least partly the same radio resources.
 23. Thecommunication device of claim 17, wherein the control unit is furtherconfigured to create radio connections which employ the same radioaccess technology.
 24. The communication device of claim 17, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to adjust the parameters of theexisting radio connection in order to minimize interference between thenew radio connection and the existing radio connection.
 25. Thecommunication device of claim 17, wherein the control unit is furtherconfigured to determine, whether or not the existing radio connectionand the new radio connection interfere with one another, based onpre-information on properties of the existing radio connection and thenew radio connection.
 26. The communication device of claim 17, whereinthe control unit is further configured to determine, whether or not theexisting radio connection and the new radio connection interfere withone another, based on detected or measured properties of the existingradio connection.
 27. A communication device, comprising: communicationinterfaces to provide radio connections; and a control unit configuredto monitor properties of the radio connections in order to detectinterference between at least two radio connections, and adjustparameters of at least one radio connection so that the interferencebetween the at least two radio connections is minimized, if interferencebetween the at least two radio connections is detected.
 28. Thecommunication device of claim 27, wherein the control unit is furtherconfigured to monitor properties describing a performance of the radioconnections in order to detect interference between the at least tworadio connections.
 29. The communication device of claim 27, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to adjust the parameters of at leastone radio connection of the at least two radio connections in a way thatthe at least two radio connections do not use the same radio resources.30. The communication device of claim 27, wherein the control unit isfurther configured to adjust the parameters of at least one radioconnection of the at least two radio connections such that the at leasttwo radio connections interfering with one another use at leastpartially the same radio resources, if there are not enough radioresources available for the at least two radio connections interferingone another.
 31. The communication device of claim 30, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to adjust the parameters of the atleast two radio connections using at least partially the same radioresources in order for the at least two radio connections to sustaininterference.
 32. The communication device of claim 27, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to terminate or put on a stand-bystate at least one radio connection of the at least two radioconnections if the at least two radio connections interfering with oneanother cannot be arranged to operate simultaneously.
 33. Acommunication device, comprising: communication means to provide a radioconnection; means for creating the radio connection as an existing radioconnection; means for processing a request to create a new radioconnection; means for determining whether or not the existing radioconnection and the new radio connection interfere with one another; andmeans for creating the new radio connection with parameters thatminimize interference between the existing radio connection and the newradio connection if the existing radio connection and the new radioconnection interfere with one another.
 34. A communication device,comprising: communication means to provide radio connections; means formonitoring properties of the radio connections in order to detectinterference between at least two radio connections; and means foradjusting parameters of at least one radio connection of the at leasttwo radio connections so that the interference between the at least tworadio connections is minimized if interference between the at least tworadio connections is detected.
 35. A computer program product embodiedon a computer readable medium, the computer program product encoding acomputer program of instructions for executing a computer process forcreating a new radio connection in a communication device with at leastone existing radio connection, the process comprising: determiningwhether or not the existing radio connection and the new radioconnection interfere with one another; and creating the new radioconnection with parameters that minimize interference between theexisting radio connection and the new radio connection if the existingradio connection and the new radio connection interfere with oneanother.
 36. A computer program distribution medium readable by acomputer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing acomputer process for creating a new radio connection in a communicationdevice with at least one existing radio connection, the processcomprising: determining whether or not the existing radio connection andthe new radio connection interfere with one another; and creating thenew radio connection with parameters that minimize interference betweenthe existing radio connection and the new radio connection if theexisting radio connection and the new radio connection interfere withone another.
 37. The computer program distribution medium of claim 36,the distribution medium comprising at least one of a computer readablemedium, a program storage medium, a record medium, a computer readablememory, a computer readable software distribution package, a computerreadable signal, a computer readable telecommunications signal, and acomputer readable compressed software package.
 38. A computer programproduct embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer programproduct encoding a computer program of instructions for executing acomputer process for controlling a number of simultaneously operatingradio connections in a communication device, the process comprising:monitoring properties of the radio connections in order to detectinterference between at least two radio connections; and adjustingparameters of at least one radio connection of the at least two radioconnections so that interference between the at least two radioconnections is minimized if interference between the at least two radioconnections is detected.
 39. A computer program distribution mediumreadable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructionsfor executing a computer process for controlling a number ofsimultaneously operating radio connections in a communication device,the process comprising: monitoring properties of the radio connectionsin order to detect interference between at least two radio connections;and adjusting parameters of at least one radio connection of the atleast two radio connections so that interference between the at leasttwo radio connections is minimized if interference between the at leasttwo radio connections is detected.
 40. The computer program distributionmedium of claim 39, the distribution medium comprising at least one of acomputer readable medium, a program storage medium, a record medium, acomputer readable memory, a computer readable software distributionpackage, a computer readable signal, a computer readabletelecommunications signal, and a computer readable compressed softwarepackage.